In 1979, a man of only 17 years of age named Jadav Molai Payeng decided to completely change the state of his city. It all began when he found in Jorhat, a city in India, that dozens of reptiles died on the sandbank of the Brahmaputra River due to lack of shade. To stop this situation, he went with the authorities, who gave him 20 bamboo seeds to plant.
According to the officials who gave the seeds to Molai, as they call this enterprising man, in that area not a single bamboo would grow. However, this did not discourage Molai, who decided to carry out the sowing of the seeds.
Everyone around him got a surprise with the results of Molai's persistence. This man spent several years planting a tree every day in the same area. 35 years later, this little personal idea became a forest of 1,360 acres - almost twice as big as Manhattan's Central Park in the United States. Thanks to its determination, the forest was named after its nickname.
From an idea that seemed impossible to grow trees in a sandy and arid land, Molai showed that perseverance helps fulfill any dream. Today, that sandbar is an environment where creatures coexist with freedom and autonomy. In the refuge for wildlife that Molai created little by little now live deer, rhinos, elephants, tigers, lions, different birds and species that is at risk for the loss of their habitats in other parts of the world. The story of Molai is a reminder of the importance of being constant to reach all our goals beyond how big our dreams are, because with perseverance and patience everything can be achieved.
